Cardiac weight at necropsy was examined in 200 patients who had coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for angina pectoris, and its relation to early (less than 60 days) and late (greater than 60 days) death after CABG was sought. The 116 patients dying early had a lower mean heart weight than did the 84 patients dying late (443 plus/minus 94 g vs 494 plus/minus 107 g; p less than .01). The relation of heart weight to early or late death occurred with each sex. Most patients with hearts of normal weight were in the early death group: of the 16 women with hearts of normal weight (less than or equal to 350 g), 15 (94%) died early, and of the 34 men with hearts of normal weight (less than or equal to 400 g), 21 (62%) died early. Conversely, most patients in the late death group had hearts of increased weight, and of the 84 men dying late, 70 (93%) had hearts of increased weight. This study suggests that patients with normal or near normal sized hearts have a higher mortality early after CABG than do persons having hearts of increased weight.